The Queering of the South-West Coast
Today’s blog post was written by Sonny, our Sunday-Monday bookseller! We’re celebrating Pride Month throughout June and we can’t wait to welcome Paul Taylor-McCartney to Clemo Books for a book signing on Saturday 11th July, 11am, please come along if you’d like to meet the author and celebrate Cornwall Uncharted.
Paul Taylor-McCartney’s Cornwall Uncharted was published on the 4th of June 2026, and despite my struggle with non-fiction (not for lack of love, but for lack of an attention span) I finished it within the week. Of course, connoisseur of queer lit that I am, I’ll read any book if you tell me it’s got rainbows and pansies. And as a writer of queer Cornish fiction, I’m constantly on the lookout for research material, and Paul Taylor-McCartney frequently crops up in my searches. I was beyond excited to see the announcement for this book on my Insta feed! A contemporary account of the complexities of the queer Cornish identity? Dream come true. I immediately ordered the book (through Clemo Books, naturally) and dove right in.
In this fascinating historical non-fiction book, Taylor-McCartney first outlines the nature of his musings; he does not draw conclusions without sufficient evidence. Nobody who didn’t claim titles like ‘gay’ or ‘nonbinary’ would be assigned such in retrospect. Instead, their relationships, performances, work, and lifestyles are analysed through a queer lens of possibility, while leaving room for interpretation. This, in my opinion, is the most tactful and respectful way to speculate on historical figures’ lives.
What I particularly adored about this gay grimoire is how familiar yet refreshing it is to read, how it clarifies concepts that many of us have felt but struggled to verbalise. Taylor-McCartney illustrates how the Cornish landscapes instruct and reinforce queer patterns of behaviour: the practise of discretion; the rhythm of approach and withdrawal, like that of the tide; the lighthouse, which exists predominantly in darkness, with flickering moments of dazzling light. I’ve always felt queer elders were like lighthouses, offering guidance, safety, and refuge. Bursting hedgerows and our winding lanes provide concealment, and fields and clifftops are open spaces where privacy isn’t the luxury it is in more urban areas. In Cornwall, a vast plain can also be a place of isolation, and within that isolation is the freedom to just be. The potential to exist in hiding, without hiding, shrouded by sea mist and the rolling fog.
It is a homecoming, a beautifully curated collection of anecdotes, personal musings from the author’s desk, exploration of life for queer Cornishfolk through the ages, and gorgeous illustrations by James Innerdale woven throughout.
Paul Taylor-McCartney will be joining us for a signing and a chat on Saturday the 11th of July at 11am in Clemo Books, Newquay! We have plenty of copies for you to get your hands on and read in anticipation, or pick one up on the day. You could even order a copy from our website (clemobooks.co.uk) where you’ll also find free tickets for this event. I know I’ll be getting my copy signed. Dha weles skon, queers and allies!
